AEW Dynamite airs tonight (Apr. 8) with a live show from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This is the final episode of Dynamite during the four week build to Dynasty, which takes place on Sunday (Apr. 12).
Chris Jericho really wants you to like him again and stop telling him to retire
Last week’s Dynamite started off with a big surprise when Chris Jericho made his long-awaited AEW return in Winnipeg. After the live fans sang along with his Judas theme song, Jericho said “I’m home” to a big pop, and that was the end of his segment. Jericho is scheduled to be back on tonight’s
show to address his return.
Jericho’s return to AEW took place in his hometown, and the crowd reaction will likely be favorable to him tonight as well since Dynamite is still in Canada. The Dynasty PPV is also in Canada (Vancouver) this weekend. That Jericho waited for AEW’s trip to Canada for his return and has brought back his Judas theme for fans to sing tells me that he really wants fans to cheer for him again, at least in the early going.
This isn’t a star who is looking to retire any time soon, which may be related to why he chose to stay in AEW rather than go back to WWE. Jericho’s last AEW run with The Learning Tree gimmick was mostly a flop, and came at a time when fans were sick of Chris getting so much TV time over younger, more interesting wrestlers. Chants of “Please retire!” were pretty common when Chris would show up on AEW programming. Now that he is back in AEW for the long haul, it seems like a very good idea for Jericho to put himself in a position where that is less likely to happen again.
Can Jericho find the right words tonight to give fans hope that he has reinvented himself once again to bring a fresh act to AEW? Will we find out what his recent “Cornerstone” trademark is all about? Is he just going to troll and say almost nothing again after his theme song is finished playing?
Tune in to Dynamite tonight to learn more about what Jericho has in store for AEW now that he’s finally back.
The rest of the card
Darby Allin, AEW National Champion “Jungle” Jack Perry, and ROH World Champion Bandido are teaming up in a trios match against Mark Davis, Konosuke Takeshita, and Andrade El Idolo of the Don Callis Family. This match originally included Brody King on the babyface side, which would have been more interesting given his history with Darby. However, King was pulled late due to personal reasons and replaced by Bandido. Darby and Andrade are fighting each other at Dynasty and both interested in winning the AEW world title, so that story will likely be the focal point of this bout.
Queen Aminata returns to AEW tonight to challenge Willow Nightingale for the TBS championship. Aminata hasn’t wrestled since late October due to injury. After the champ (very likely) retains her belt, will Hikaru Shida show up to follow through on her teased heel turn from her return match on Collision?
Kenny Omega is scheduled to speak at some point on tonight’s broadcast. He is challenging MJF for the AEW world championship at Dynasty. Does Kenny have anything more to say about MJF’s claim that his intestines could blow up at any moment? I hope this isn’t leading to an Exploding Intestine Barbed Wire Deathmatch at the PPV.
Will Ospreay and AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley are also both advertised to appear on Dynamite. Ospreay got his wish to challenge Mox for the gold at Dynasty. That should create a fair playing field since the rules of that belt mean none of the Death Riders are allowed at ringside. However, it also includes the restriction of a 20-minute time limit, which may not be enough time for these two men to have a five star match settle their issues. At any rate, the Death Riders’ numbers game overwhelmed Ospreay last week on Dynamite, but Moxley decided not to break the guy’s neck. Ospreay somehow recovered within 24 hours to wipe out Mox with a Hidden Blade on Thursday Collision. What kind of bloody damage will they try to do to each other’s asses tonight if the opportunity presents itself?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Adam Copeland & Christian Cage say they will take out anyone who stands in their way of getting their hands on AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR. They followed through on that threat by beating the hell out of Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta with chairs, and then using the conchairto on a useless security guard. Will they get to assault 200+ more Don Callis family members tonight?
– The Hurt Syndicate is back in business in AEW, and they are looking to expand operations with a new member. If these old guys really want to recruit someone young, AEW World Trios Champion Kevin Knight happens to be one of the most exciting young wrestlers in the promotion. If MVP’s group wants to make a bigger splash, then how about chatting with Swerve Strickland? Swerve is looking for a way to gain power in AEW, after all, and being the most dangerous wrestler in the company lends itself very well to hurting people.
– After vacating her final indie championship, is Mercedes Mone finally ready to return to AEW? Could she be back as soon as tonight to set up her return match for Dynasty?
– AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada and Konsuke Takeshita’s love triangle over TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher may be on hold due to injury. Will Tony Khan decide to vacate Fletcher’s belt soon?
– Jamie Hayter is challenging AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla for the gold at Dynasty. Will Hayter give Thekla a preview of what’s to come by beating some of the piss out of the her tonight?
– Mark Briscoe has only wrestled one match since mid-February. Is he okay?
– It wouldn’t be an AEW pay-per-view without the Young Bucks being in a match, so don’t be surprised if they run into one during tonight’s show.
– It’s also not an AEW PPV until Tony Khan has reached 12+ total matches booked. We’re only half way there, so I expect some rapid fire angles tonight for folks like Orange Cassidy, AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion, Tommaso Ciampa, AEW World Trios Champions JetSpeed & Mistico, Claudio Castagnoli, etc.
– Is AEW still doing this thing where Anthony Bowens tries to prove to HOOK that he has the killer instinct required to join The Opps? Will Samoa Joe return before HOOK makes a decision on Bowens?
– Where the f*** are The Blade, Britt Baker, Keith Lee, Nyla Rose, and The Butcher?
What will you be looking for on Dynamite?
